Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai, has been on the CIA payroll for much of the past eight years, The New York Times reports, citing current and former American officials:
The relationship between Mr. Karzai and the C.I.A. is wide ranging, several American officials said. He helps the C.I.A. operate a paramilitary group, [...]
Archive for October, 2009
Afghanistan: Karzai + Karzai = 0
Posted in Afghanistan on October 28, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Of Predators and Suicide Bombers
Posted in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, Pakistan on October 27, 2009 | 4 Comments »
There is a remarkable statistic in Jane Mayer’s superb piece [abstract] on the Predator war in The New Yorker:
It appears to have taken sixteen missile strikes, and fourteen months, before the C.I.A. succeeded in killing [Baitullah Mehsud]. During this hunt, between two hundred and seven and three hundred and twenty-one additional people were killed, depending [...]
Iraq: 155 Dead, Maliki Spotted
Posted in Iraq on October 26, 2009 | 1 Comment »
At least 155 people are dead in the latest bout of residual violence in Baghdad. Merely an expected minor hiccup, of course, and nothing to be worried about, but apparently loud enough for the prime minister himself to put on his wellingtons and hazard a day trip:
In a rare personal appearance at a bombing site, [...]
‘American Departure Would Seal the Region’s Fate’
Posted in Afghanistan, Pakistan on October 23, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Ahmed Rashid:
[...] Pakistan is far less resilient than it was a few years ago. Even as Pakistani officials bluntly criticize Holbrooke for linking Afghanistan and Pakistan in his ‘AfPak’ strategy, some Pakistanis already see a chronic ‘Afghanization’ of their nation. Current realities include a collapse of law and order in parts of the country, state [...]
Department of Tasting One’s Own Medicine: Pakistan Urges NATO to ‘Seal the Border’
Posted in Afghanistan, Pakistan on October 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
You gotta be kidding me:
As government forces pressed ahead with the Waziristan offensive, the military called on the NATO troops in Afghanistan to seal the border ‘to prevent cross-border movement and flow of weapons.’
Pakistan Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Chairman General Tariq Majid made the call during talks with Britain’s Chief of Defence Staff, [...]
Iraq: Parliament Adjourns, No Elections Law
Posted in Iraq on October 16, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Not that anyone’s interested, but I thought I’d mention that yesterday was the deadline for the Iraqi Parliament to pass an electoral law crucial for the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for January 16. Alas, parliament adjourned for the weekend. Reidar Visser explains:
Many of the biggest parties secretly want to keep a closed-list system instead of [...]
A Message from the Management
Posted in Misc on October 14, 2009 | 12 Comments »
My apologies for the dearth of posts.
For once, I have no excuses to offer. I simply don’t know what to write. The war in Afghanistan is all but lost, yet there is no serious debate, only a shouting match. As for Iraq, no one really cares what happens as long as the Americans get out [...]
